


City that Glitters

by WizStreetColfer



Category: Ghosts (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Everyone Is Alive, Future, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29188440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WizStreetColfer/pseuds/WizStreetColfer
Summary: Patrick has a chance encounter with the Captain. Set in a fictional future society.No Smut.
Relationships: Pat Butcher & The Captain (Ghosts TV 2019), Pat Butcher/The Captain (Ghosts TV 2019)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	City that Glitters

"Wow!" Patrick watches the lanterns float up to the sky. It's a beautiful sight, and he is glad to have been invited here. It was magical, like something out of a fairytale. 

People are letting off party poppers and sharing food, there are children running around the festival carefree and without reprimand. It's everything a new world festival should be. After all it's the first night in the new city for everyone, might as well get to know the new populous. 

He walks amongst the crowds of his new neighbors, conversing with some while only passing a kind greeting to others. There are hundreds of people here. He wonders if any of them live on his street, he hasn’t spoken to anybody living in the same cul de sac yet. Willow Tree Crescent, he decided to live on this street because it looked similar to the street he had grown up on. A home away from home. 

Earth felt so far away now, it may only be in the next solar system along and the teleporter beams could take him back any time but something in his bones told him he would already like it here. 

3035 was a year destined to be great. The human race had colonised their 7th planet, this one, and there hadn't been a crime in over 500 years now. It was wonderful, blissful. Pat had been rather fond of history in school, he still was, but now he looked to the future. 

The pavement glistened almost rhythmically beneath his feet, everybody could feel the sensation. The planet was alive, and it was glad they were here too. Humans made sure to take home on planet’s that wanted them there, and form a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship with the land. It’s what enabled them to build, it’s how they originally saved Earth. The human race had come a long way, and Pat was grateful to be part of such a historical moment. The Planets Seven. It had a nice ring to it. 

Patrick made his way onto a red footbridge. The stream below flourished with plants and fish, dancing amongst the reflections of the sky lanterns that would later turn to dust and become a building, or statue. As he leaned against the wooden railing of the bridge, he caught sight of a piece of wood chip sticking out of the woodwork, and concern of someone possibly getting a splinter made him tap it twice. The small material that had stuck out melted into the air, becoming dust and reforming into what Patrick had been thinking of. The particles fell to rest on the water, before a soft glow kissed the area around the landing zone and turned into a silverfish.

Patrick smiled at his creation, science was truly amazing. 

"Good eye!" 

Pat hadn’t realised anyone was watching him. He turned to greet the voice. It was a man not much older than himself, smiling down at the fish as though it were a newborn; technically it was... ? 

"Thanks," Patrick said, "Optical 45." He tapped the edge of his glasses, which faded into dust on his face and then reformed into glasses again. 

"Ah," the man says, "well that certainly helps. I'm the Captain by the way." 

"You're? You're THE Captain?" 

"That I am," the Captain turned his head away bashfully. He loved his job but he was still unsure how to deal with this kind of attention. "Thank you for accepting your invitation." 

"I don't think anyone in their right mind wouldn’t have done," Patrick said, "your city is beautiful." 

‘Captains’ would design the cities, architecture of a new planet was a job where each Captain would design a city to their own liking. On one planet you could be going through a city coated with gold and then down the road a bit to a city set underground with only a giant swimming pool on top; that’s the capital Olympicilian City on planet 3 and it’s neighbouring city Golden Trove. 

Once people started to learn how to control dust, there came a new era of innovation that had yet to stop. (Dust: the atom, ‘Dusteen’, that was discovered in 2054 by Vanessa Dusteen, not dust filled with dead skin and dust mites - that would really be gross.) 

This new city, 'Dustorian', was the capital city of the seventh planet and the first complete dust-only city. At the moment only 600 applicants had been invited to trial the planet, and after 30 years if people liked living here and it continued to be structurally sound more people would be able to come and join the colony. People could come visit family and friends of course, but the first few years in particular were very health and safety orientated. 

"Thank you," the Captain said focusing his eyes back on the man in front of him, "I'm glad you like it." If he was completely truthful he still couldn’t believe his luck. He had been shocked his design had been voted for, let alone the natives of his city moving in and actually liking it there. It felt like a fever dream.

"I'm Pat, Pat Butcher." 

"Nice to meet you, Patrick." 

There was a chime in the air, and another set of lanterns were being sent into the sky, the glittering lights illuminating the sky once more. 

Patrick's eyes are practically glistening, it was like discovering treasure. "I don't think I could ever get over this." He takes out his memory stick, detaching it from his neck and pulling dust out of the air to attach a dust-made camera into the other end of it. He takes a photograph before making the camera disappear and putting the storage device back, allowing the photograph to be permanently uploaded to his memory bank. This was definitely something he wanted to remember forever. 

"It is beautiful," The Captain smiled looking up at the lanterns, "it turned out better than I anticipated." 

Patrick smiled, he could see tears brimming in the Captains eyes. He could tell how much this meant to him. 

"You did a fantastic job, Cap. Truly." 

The Captain tilts his head with a small smile aimed at the other man, "Cap?" 

"Sorry... I have a habit of giving people nicknames..." 

"No, no." The Captain laughed, running his hand through his slightly coiffed hair, "I've just never had a nickname before." 

"Cap it is then," Patrick smiles, he's internally kicking himself because he just gave a nickname to the top dog on the planet and it's slightly embarrassing how quickly he can become informal in any setting, but the Captain doesn't seem to mind. 

"Shall we move higher up?" The Captain says, "get a better view while we talk? If you would like to continue our conversation that is." 

"I would love that." 

* * *

He and the Cap had spoken into the wee hours of the night, the sun sneaking over the horizons when Pat bid the Captain a goodnight. They had spoken about many things, the city, the planet, they had learned a little bit about each other. It was nice. The Captain had even walked him home, exclaiming, “I can show you all the shortcuts!” 

They had walked along the harbour front, lanterns in the sky were starting to evaporate and move to the next assigned thing. There were a couple of healers down by the boats, gently stroking the water and giving thanks to the planet for agreeing to have them. The pair of them bumped shoulders as they continued to joke and laugh over shared stories, the Captain revealed he had been born on Planet 4 and was wowed by the fact Pat was from Earth, it wasn’t that people couldn’t go to Earth but it currently had a lower population than the other planets. Mainly because it was still healing, it would probably take thousands of centuries, but slowly it became greener and more full of life again. Planet 4 was an interesting one, it was the largest planet of 7, and had the most people. 

The Captain shared stories of his childhood, and Pat did too. By the end of the night (well early hours of the morning) Patrick felt like he had read the Captains autobiography. Befriending Dustorian’s Captain hadn’t been what he had in mind, but when it ended with a chaste kiss he knew he couldn’t wish for anything better. 

The whistling of his kettle startles him out of his thoughts and he moves to finish making his drink. Thoughts of the Captain wishing him goodnight and gently moving close were stuck at the forefront of his mind. He wasn’t sure if he was making his cup of tea properly. 

“I really enjoyed speaking with you tonight, Patrick. The Captain cleared his throat, looking to the house almost anxiously and then back to the shorter man, “I hope we have the chance to speak again soon.” 

“Well you know where to find me,” Patrick laughs, angling his head towards the house before looking to the pavement. 

“Quite,” the Captain lets out a light laugh, something Patrick had decided around 2am was his favourite kind of laugh from the Cap. It was quick, sweet laugh, but featured an easy grin and a slight red would up the sides of the Captain’s neck. 

“Very well, I suppose I…” he brings his lips together, almost as though he’s already regretting what he has to say. “I’ll see you soon?” 

There’s a moment. Mere seconds where Patrick’s brain recalls the last few hours in a flash forward of images. They had laughed, a lot. He remembers catching the Captain’s face under the orange glow of a nearby lantern and practically swooning. The Captain was by every meaning of the word: beautiful. 

“Of course you will, you’re welcome anytime Cap.” 

The Captain nods, stepping back to take his leave. He seems reluctant, his eyes dropping to Pat’s hesitantly, and suddenly Patrick knows why he seemed so regretful earlier. ‘He feels the same too,’ the penny drops in Pat’s mind and it’s like glass shattering a million times over. Moments throughout the night where they had spoken, where they had… flirted? They had been flirting! 

Patrick’s world is suddenly a bit off-kilter. He hasn’t felt this way about somebody in some time. It was quick, crushes usually were right? He knows not to act on crushes, every romantic experience he's had is telling him to ignore the way he wants to kiss him, because they should take it slow. Though it’s undeniably true he’s caught up in the moment, so he ignores the warning signals being sent from his mind and listens to his heart. He steps forward and takes the Captain’s hand gently. His eyes asking, wanting. 

“Is this?” He manages, he wouldn’t ever do anything without consent. This was very new, and it both scared him and thrilled him. Kissing a man he knew so much about didn’t sound too bad, he had learned a lot during their night together, but add the fact they hadn’t known each other for even 12 hours yet… it was fast, it was rushed, his brain tried to reason with itself but their was a screaming coming through the confliction of emotions: JUST KISS HIM. 

The Captain nods, his lips slightly apart in shock but Pat can see the look in his eyes too. The Captain is already moving forward. Patrick mutters, “silly sausage” under his breath before moving forward to place his hands on either side of the man’s face and kiss him. 

It’s slow, chaste, their lips are slightly chapped and there’s a brush of moustache for either of them which causes them to giggle. Their lips pull apart but they remain close, both feeling equally happy.

“Silly sausage?” the Captain asks, his voice slightly raspy as he gently holds Pat’s arms and moves to place a gentle peck on Patrick’s forehead. 

“I feel…silly. You’ve been flirting with me all night and I’ve been completely oblivious.” 

“How sausagey of you,” the Captain jokes. The air between them became more light hearted again. 

Patrick just rolls his eyes, but he's still smiling as he steps back. “Fancy a drink?” 

That drink had gone better than the one Patrick was trying to make in his kitchen. He tips away the concoction of tea and coffee mistaken for brown sugar. Last night was amazing. Pat looks up from his kitchen counter to see proof of that lying asleep on his sofa. They had fallen asleep watching a box set filmed on planet 4, the Captains recommendation.

He turned to focus on the task at hand, two teas, shouldn’t be too difficult. This time he makes drinks without the addition of coffee, and uses white sugar just be to be safe. He wasn’t sure how the Captain took his morning drink, maybe he did like coffee (without tea for sure), but they had drank tea last night and the architect hadn’t complained. 

Besides, after a night full of conversations and kissing, he expects he’ll have plenty of time to find out those things in the future...

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think if you have the time :)


End file.
